5.31.2009

I was just about to renew my home insurance when I found out this interesting fact. If I have a home security system installed I can save up to 20% off my premium! So, I'm in the market for a REAL security system for my home. My Poppy Petunia "guard dog system", just won't do. Seriously I don't think itty bitty nine pound Poppy Petunia would be of much help should we have a break in. She would just roll over and lie on her back waiting for the burglar to scratch her belly. Ultimately what I need is sophisticated, state of the art security like the wireless security system that Protect America offers. The company uses GE products, the most trusted name in electronics and have several great packages to choose from. I like the Platinum package which includes 15 entry points, a motion detector and even garage security. I've done my homework and found that Protect America combines the best price with the best equipment and service compared to other companies in the field. It will certainly be a comfortable feeling knowing that my home is being protected 24/7 - yep, even while I am away on vacation. So I guess it's time to give Poppy Petunia a break and relieve her of her "guard dog angst" . I'll give the company a call at 877-470-2751 to get more info and oh yeah , if I place an order I will get two free keychain remotes - VERY convenient. Check Protect America out for your home security! Security that is JUST COOL!

5.30.2009

Art created using the iPhone fascinates me! It fascinated The New Yorker magazine too - enough that they put it on the cover of this weeks issue. The June 1,2009 cover was done by Jorge Colombo who drew it using Brushes, an application for the iPhone, while standing for an hour outside Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Times Square.

Look for more of Colombo's iPhone art each week within the pages of The New Yorker. While the talented artist has been contributing his conventional drawings to the magazine since 1994 , it was not until February of this year that he began dabbling in his new found iPhone art.

5.29.2009

Lee Hadwin has no artistic talent at all in fact he can't draw worth beans . When he is awake that is. But send him to bed and you might find him walking in his sleep a few hours later, drawing expertly rendered masterpieces. At night this nurse by day becomes a "sleepwalking artist" producing amazing artwork, that he has no recollection of having done when he awakens in the morning!

His sleepwalking began when he was only four years old and later in his teen years the drawing obsession took over and his nocturnal talent blossomed. Once staying over at a friend's house, he covered the kitchen walls with doodles in his sleep, an embarrassing discovery at breakfast time the next day. Read more about this odd sleepwalking artist over at daily mail. He is JUST COOL!

5.26.2009

This morning I was surfing the web looking for some innovative designs for business cards. I need one. Sure, over the trillions of years I have been in business I have had my share, but for the last few I have been chicken scratching ArtWendy.com on my shipments in marker instead. Sooooo....I've decided to get a little more organized and professional and throw in a cool business card instead. Something memorable that my customers won't end up throwing in the trash. Looky at what showed up in my search. Some very clever, very eyecatching business cards! I don't think anyone would throw these out...

Looks like picky me will be having some trouble coming up with my "perfect business card" . Ideas anyone? Remember...it has to be JUST COOL ;)

Step back in time to October 1956 when this charming photo was taken of a man and his cat. Henry Behrens, then the smallest man in the world dances with his pet cat in the doorway of his Worthing UK home. Measuring only 30 inches high, Mr Behrens made a living by travelling the world with Burton Lester's Midget Troupe.Whether his cat came along, is unknown. But aren't they so cute together? :)

My family lives in small town in upstate New York where crime is definitely on the rise. Years ago when I myself was growing up here as a child it was a safe place to live. People didn't lock their doors, kids were allowed to play outside and even walk downtown unsupervised, with no worries that a crime could occur. Today we have one of the fastest growing crime rates in the area. There have been several break-ins and burglaries even on this street alone. Having a security system around here is a must, not only to warn when crime strikes but just for the sense of security that it provides. I checked out a great website called Protect America, Inc, that offers several packages for just such security.I like the Gold package which covers 12 entry points and comes with a host of added security features PLUS a motion detector which is so important (since last year I had my tires slashed right out in my driveway and my daughter had someone try to break in through her window in the middle of the night. Talk about terrifying!) I noticed on the website that if you call their toll free number, 877-470-2751 to order your wireless security system you also get two keychain remotes with your order. If its anything like my car remote I definitely want that included too! So check out the website. Because it's better to be safe then sorry when protecting your home and your loved ones!

Contemporary French artist, Bernard Pras takes his cue from the brilliant 16th Century Italian painter, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who was best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books. Arcimboldo arranged them in such a way, that the whole collection of objects formed a recognizable likeness of the subject.

While the great Arcimboldo painted his compositions, the clever Pras uses photography and lithography, and is considered to be one of the most uncommon assemblage artists in the world today.

By anamorphosis, he creates a portrait in relief by piecing together randomly accumulated common objects and photographing it at just the right angle to capture the portrait subject. In the end the photograph is the only remaining trace of this clever collage.

5.24.2009

Weightloss made easy. Could it be the surgical technology of the future? Actually it requires no surgery at all - no cutting or invasive procedure - just a long nap and some subliminal suggestions.

35 year old Marion Corns, underwent imaginary surgery when a hypno therapist put her into a trance, convincing her that she had undergone lap band surgery when in reality no surgery was performed at all. Corns was talked through the detailed procedure which even went as far as having hospital smells pumped into the room to boost the effect. Corns said, “Bizarrely I can even ‘remember’ being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon’s knife and smell of the anaesthetic.” Afterwards Marion felt her stomach had tightened and she was full on just a small bit of food. The mother of three from Whiston, Merseyside, GB who was living in Spain when she heard about the treatment, said: “I simply can’t eat a lot of food now.” and incredibly lost 56 pounds in a matter of four months. The imaginary surgery was performed in five sessions and cost £780.

Cheaper, safer "surgery" - Imagine if it were applied to other facets of medicine? The possibilities are endless and JUST COOL!

American Idol was a real hit this season. And a surprise! Just when I thought Adam Lambert was for sure the winner, Chris snuck in from behind and took the title. I have to admit I was disappointed. I'm sorry , but to me Chris didn't have the voice nor the star quality that Adam Lambert had. Seriously, he was just another mainstream generic boy next door type and nothing about him thrilled me at all. On the thrill meter, Adam was another story though. His entertaining style was what kept Idol from being dull and boring. The special affects, the flashy wardrobe - even the jewelry (did you see Adam Lambert's Spiked Pendant?) had to be the highlight of just about every show! And speaking of jewelry - that pendant definitely showed off this boys rocker style to the max. I wonder how many of you are wondering where you may purchase something like that? Well here's another surprise, because you can buy it from the very website that provided that and some other pieces of Adam's jewelry . Is that JUST COOL or what? That flashy pendant got a lot of notoriety due to IDOL . Check out more cool bling on the website,TattooApparel.com and see more Rock Star Jewelry for yourself!

5.22.2009

Picasso painted cubist abstracts on canvas. Andy Saunders paints his cars into Picassos. An example? This wild and wonderful 1938 Citroen 2CV that he transformed into a work of art on wheels, naming it "Picasso's Citroën."

"Regarded as the UKs top custom car builder, Saunders has been at the forefront of wild car creations for almost 30 years, having built over 40 individual customs and restored a number of classics. It is, however, his unique, off the wall designs and drivable car sculptures that have earned him the most critical acclaim and attracted global media attention. One journalist described Saunders as an automotive alchemist for he turned base cars into gold. In addition to participation in various European Concours dElegance events and recently completing a pair of special commissions for Hyundai, most recently, Saunders claimed his third Guinness Book of World Records title, this time for the worlds lowest camper van. Created onstage in just three days and before an audience of over 34,000 car enthusiasts, the diminutive 1980 VW Camper stands at just 3.3 feet tall."

5.20.2009

I've been a fan of Carl Warner for a while now. This popular food artist / photographer manipulates salmon fillets, garlic cloves and brocoli florets into fantastic sureal landscapes and then photographs them. So it's nice to see he's just added six more images to his ever popular (and tasty!) "foodscape" menu! These are a few of his latest -

Garlicshire

Fishscape

Bread and Cheese

ravioli air balloon

Made entirely of vegetables, meat, dairy and fish, Warner's foodscapes look so real you really have to take a second look to descern what edibles you are actually looking at!

"Foodscapes started out as personal project where I wanted to highlight the idea of implied design within the natural world, the qualities within organic forms,' said the Kent UK based 44-year-old. 'For me, the forms, shapes, patterns and structures of everything from DNA molecules to fingerprints, from tornadoes to spiral galaxies all point to a much bigger picture."

5.18.2009

It's been such a cold spring here in upstate New York that it's hard to believe summer is only a month away! That means the kids will be out of school very soon. So what do you have planned to keep them entertained? Now is the time to plan a fun filled summer getaway for the whole family and right now Kissimmee is giving away three weekend getaways for two and two week long vacations for four ! I'm sure you've heard about all the awesome things there are to do in this vacation wonderland. Most people think that Florida is only for Spring and Winter Break but actually summertime is one of the best times to visit and see all that it has to offer, especially Kissimmee Florida, from it's many water parks that will keep you cool as a cucumber to it's wonderful outdoor recreation where you can get up close and personal with Mother Nature doing things like hiking it's many beautiful trails, canoeing, kayaking or exploring the Everglades on a thrilling airboat tour. All in all, Kissimmee features a unique combination of authentic small town charm, theme park thrills, outdoor adventures, award winning golf, tranquil beaches, landscapes and more - all just waiting for you. So hurry - enter the Kissimmee sweepstakes now because the final drawing for your free vacation of a lifetime will end before you know it - 6/1/09!

5.17.2009

Most of us like to eat potatoes but Lebanese artist Ginou Choueir likes to paint them. Literally. He uses potatoes as his canvas of choice when doing these JUST COOL portraits. He has painted sacks of potatoes and each seems to have a personality all it's own!

What's behind his Mr. Potato Head inspiration?

"I chose the potato to portray human faces because of the many striking parallels. Not only is their skin porous like ours, but their skin texture and color is very similar, and like us, they come in different sizes, shapes and forms. Potatoes grow, live, and then decay, mirroring the ephemeral existence and fragility of our own human nature."

So I wonder what these faces turn into when they start to rot? For now they look JUST COOL to me!

5.14.2009

What's that funny pen doing up there? Well, Markkit is one nifty web2.0 text highlighter that can highlight text on any webpage. Just drag 'n drop the markkit yellow pen into your browser toolbar. Whenever you want to highlight text in a web page, click on the markkit bookmarklet. Markkit works only with Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Apple Safari. Want to give it a try? Click the pen and drag it over any text on my blog to highlight.

JUST COOL is...All the cool stuff in art, architecture, home, fashion, transportation,technology and more....always the weird and unusual... and sometimes a little idle rambling, written by Wendy Presseisen.